The Red Sox' 2004 World Series win squares off against Bobby Orr's Stanley Cup-winning goal in the final round of Boston's Greatest Sports Moment tournament.
By now, every Red Sox fan probably has replayed Joe Castiglione’s call of the final out of the 2004 World Series in his or her head hundreds, maybe even thousands of times: "[Keith] Foulke to the set, the 1-0 pitch, here it is … swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it. He underhands to first. And the Boston Red Sox are the world champions. For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseball's world championship. Can you believe it?" For Red Sox fans — whether they had been followers for 10, 20, 50 or even 86 years – the moment was surreal. With a full moon over Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Boston’s beloved Red Sox were finally champs for the first time since 1918. Their sweep over the Cardinals ended that infamous curse and sparked one of the largest championship celebrations Boston has ever seen.
Bobby Orr may have all the characteristics of a red-blooded human being, but the Bruins defenseman looked like an angel of the ice when he flew through the air after scoring "The Goal" to win the 1970 Stanley Cup. In that moment at the Boston Garden, with thousands of Bruins fans watching in anticipation, he was a gift bestowed upon all of Boston by the hockey gods themselves. Indeed, no single NHL moment is frozen in time more than Orr taking flight like Superman. The vision occurred 40 seconds into overtime as Orr put the puck past goaltender Glenn Hall to win Game 4 — and complete the sweep — against the St. Louis Blues. The iconic moment has never thawed. It is perfect.
Which is a greater Boston sports moment?
Share your thoughts about Boston's Greatest Sports Moment on Twitter at @NESN. Include #BGSM in your tweet.
